3/8/01 Total Maximum Daily Load PCB and Chlordane Chartiers Creek Canonsburg to Mouth Washington and Allegheny Counties Table of Contents Page Introduction 2 Background 2 TMDL Development 4 Source Assessment 6 TMDL Calculation 9 Recommendations 14 Monitoring 15 Public Participation 15 Appendix A – STORET retrieval of PCB and chlordane fish tissue data Appendix B – Comment and Response Appendix C - References 1 Introduction Pennsylvania has conducted monitoring of fish tissue contaminants since 1976. Early efforts were comprised of special studies in major water-bodies as well as smaller waters with suspected sources of contaminants. Routine sampling for tissue contaminants began in 1979 with implementation of the EPA "CORE" monitoring network that mandated collection of whole fish samples. Because Pennsylvania wanted the fish tissue monitoring program to focus on protection of public health, we began sampling both the edible portion and whole body at one- half of the stations. In 1987, Pennsylvania began sampling the edible portion almost exclusively. In order to increase spatial coverage, the Department also began rotating sampling through its routine ambient monitoring network and provided both Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Fish and Boat Commission field biologists the opportunity to sample suspected problem areas. Fishing is a wholesome, relaxing pastime, and fish are nutritious and good to eat. Some fish, however, may accumulate contaminants to levels that may be harmful to those who eat them over a long period of time. In an attempt to protect public health, the Commonwealth periodically (at least annually) issues fish consumption advisories based on monitoring data from a number of sources. Advisories are issued jointly by the Department of Health, the Fish and Boat Commission, and DEP. The list of advisories is published in the "Pennsylvania Summary of Fishing Regulations and Laws" which is provided to each fishing license buyer, and is also available from the Department in hard copy and through the Internet at http://www.fish.state.pa.us. In addition, the annual list and any individual advisories needed between lists are issued using press releases. A number of Pennsylvania water bodies with fish consumption advisories were listed on the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) List of Impaired Waters for 1996. They were listed because long-term, unrestricted consumption of these fish could potentially lead to human health problems. This document addresses contamination of fish tissue in the Chartiers Creek, Washington and Allegheny Counties, by PCB and Chlordane. Background This Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) applies to the Chartiers Creek (Stream Code 36777), and a short segment at the mouth of the Little Chartiers Creek (Stream Code 36943). The main stem of Chartiers Creek is listed, in Basin 20-F (River Mile30.38), from Canonsburg to the mouth and 0.38 miles of the Little Chartiers Creek from the mouth upstream to the Cannonsburg Lake dam. The segment of the Little Chartiers was included in the same consumption advisory as management decision, (not based on actual fish tissue data) based on the fact that fish in the main Stem of Chartiers Creek could swim up into Little Chartiers Creek to the point where the dam is located. For this reason no loading computations or allocations will be done for the Little Chartiers Creek, and the focus of this TMDL is the main stem of Chartiers Creek. Chartiers Creek (Segment ID 9922) and the short segment of Little Chartiers Creek (Segment ID 9923) were included on the 1998 Section 303(d) list as a high priority for TMDL development. The 2 first fish advisory for Chartiers Creek was issued on December 12, 1979. The public was warned not to eat carp downstream from Canonsburg due to PCB contamination (5.3 ppm). The statewide release on June 26, 1986 added largemouth bass and chlordane (0.44 ppm) to the advisory. This advice was re-issued in June 1991, and the advisory was extended to include the Lower reaches of Chartiers Creek in August 1992. When the Great Lakes protocol was applied for 1998, carp remained “Do Not Eat”, but the advice for largemouth bass changed to one meal per month (Group 3). Both carp and largemouth bass are listed for PCB and chlordane. This Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) applies to the Chartiers Creek (Stream Code 36777), listed in Basin 20-F (River Mile30.38) from Canonsburg to Mouth. Chartiers Creek was included on the 1998 Section 303(d) list [with ID 9922] as a high priority for TMDL development. The first fish advisory for Chartiers Creek was issued on December 12, 1979. The public was warned not to eat carp downstream from Canonsburg due to PCB contamination (5.3 ppm). The statewide release on June 26, 1986 added largemouth bass and chlordane (0.44 ppm) to the advisory. This advice was re-issued in June 1991, and the advisory was extended to include the Lower reaches of Chartiers Creek in August 1992. When the Great Lakes protocol was applied for 1998, carp remained “Do Not Eat”, but the advice for largemouth bass changed to one meal per month (Group 3). Both carp and largemouth bass are listed for PCB and chlordane. 1. Driving Directions from Philadelphia to the Former Cooper Power Systems Site: 1. Take I-76 West to I-79, Exit No. 3 onto I-79 South 2. Take I-79 South to Exit 10 at Canonsburg. 3. Turn right off the exit ramp until you come to a T. 4. Turn left at the T, go across Railroad tracks to First Street in Canonsburg 5. Turn right on First Street, go two blocks to Chartiers Ave. and turn left. 6. The Former Cooper Power Systems plant is at the end of Chartiers Ave. 3 S# # Allegheny l A l 22 PITTSBURGH /( # S# k e e r 914 C s r e Washington ti ar h k C e Impaired Segment e r Stream Road C Impaired Watershed s r City e Watershed i t Lock or Dam r #S WQN Sample Site a h C WASHINGTON e l t 702 t i # L ,- TMDL Development Endpoint Identification The overall goal of a TMDL is to achieve the "fishable/swimmable" goal of the federal Clean Water Act. Because consumption advisories are in place for largemouth bass and carp for PCB and Chlordane, these goals are not being met in this segment of the Chartiers Creek. The specific goal of a TMDL is to outline a plan to achieve water quality standards in the water body. For this segment of the Chartiers Creek, the TMDL goal is for levels of PCB and Chlordane in the water column to be equal to or less than the Commonwealth's water quality criteria. The criteria, found in the "Water Quality Toxics Management Strategy - Statement of Policy" (Chapter 16 of the Department's rules and regulations) are 0.00004 ug/L (micrograms per liter, equivalent to parts per billion) for PCB and 0.0005 ug/L for Chlordane. Both of these compounds are probable human carcinogens, and these are human health criteria developed to protect against excess cancer risk. Specifically, the Department's water quality toxics 4 management program controls carcinogens to an overall risk management level of one excess case of cancer in a population of 1 million (1 x 10-6). Expressing this another way, the probability of an individual getting cancer is increased by a factor of 1 in 1 million. Two means were employed in an effort to obtain readily available data on instream PCB and chlordane levels for comparison to the criteria. First, the Department's Southwest Field Office searched for PCB and chlordane data in or upstream from the Chartiers Creek fish consumption advisory segment. Second, data from the EPA Storage and Retrieval System (STORET) was obtained. An "Inventory" retrieval that would include data collected by all agencies using STORET was run for all areas with a five-mile radius around the Department's fish tissue sampling station. This station is WQF36777-027.4 (Chartiers Creek at Van Emman) and WQN Station #914 (Chartiers Creek at RMI 9.2 miles; Bridge off LR2037 in Allegheny County). All samples results from the retrieval were either less than detection or no water column data could be found. In any event, the data from the EPA’s STORET System is too old to be used and does not represent current conditions. As a means to compare current conditions to the water quality criteria, an estimated water column concentration was calculated based on the fish tissue concentrations and bioconcentration factors. The calculation involves dividing the average fish tissue concentration by the bioconcentration factor to obtain a projected water column concentration. The equation is: TC = WC x 1000, where BCF TC = Tissue Concentration in mg/kg (equivalent to mg/L) BCF = EPA Bioconcentration Factor in L/kg WC = Water Column Concentration (estimated) in mg/L (multiply by 1000 to obtain (ug/L) The average fish tissue concentration is the mean of all samples shown in the table below. The data is included as Appendix A. The average concentration is used for two main reasons. First, the fish tissue samples are composites. This means that the sample result represents the average tissue concentration in three to five individuals, and not an exact value. Second, use of an average value considers the natural variation in tissue burden found in wild fish populations. The PCB bioconcentration factor (BCF) of 31,200 and the Chlordane BCF of 14,100 are from the EPA criteria development documents Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Polychlorinated Biphenyls (EPA 440/5-80-068, October 1980) and Ambient Water Quality Criteria for Chlordane (EPA 440/5-80-027, October 1980).